Age of the City: -- A Financial Times Book of the Year -- Why our Future will be Won or Lost Together

by Ian Goldin, Tom Lee-Devlin

Overview

One of the Financial Times' Best Economics Books of 2023

Visionary Oxford professor Ian Goldin and The Economist's Tom Lee-Devlin show why the city is where the battles of inequality, social division, pandemics and climate change must be faced.

From centres of antiquity like Athens or Rome to modern metropolises like New York or Shanghai, cities throughout history have been the engines of human progress and the epicentres of our greatest achievements. Now, for the first time, more than half of humanity lives in cities, and that continues to rise. In the developing world, cities are growing at a rate never seen before.

Professor Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin show why making our societies fairer, more cohesive and sustainable must start with our cities. Globalization and technological change have concentrated wealth into a small number of booming metropolises, leaving many smaller cities and towns behind and feeding populist resentment. Yet even within seemingly thriving cities like London or San Francisco, the gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen and our retreat into online worlds tears away at our social fabric. Meanwhile, pandemics and climate change pose existential threats to our increasingly urban world.

Age of the City combines the lessons of history with a deep understanding of the challenges confronting our world today to show why cities are at a crossroads – and hold our destinies in the balance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399406154
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	01/07/2025
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ian Goldin is Professor of Development and Globalisation at the University of Oxford and former Vice President of the World Bank. Ian's recent publications include Rescue: From Global Crisis to a Better World, Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years, and Age of Discovery.

Tom Lee-Devlin is a writer at The Economist and co-host of the Money Talks podcast. He previously worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Preface

1 Introduction

2 Engines of Progress

3 Levelling Up

4 Divided Cities

5 Remote Work: The Threat to Cities

6 Cities, Cyberspace, and the Future of Community

7 Beyond the Rich World

8 The Spectre of Disease

9 A Climate of Peril

10 Conclusion: Better Together

Acknowledgements

Notes

Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

A fresh, clear-eyed and timely analysis of the challenges and opportunities that comes from one of the most important themes of the 21st century – the rise of urbanisation and the fact that more people live in cities than at any time in human history.” —Peter Frankopan, author of The Earth Transformed and The Silk Roads

“Age of the City takes us on an absorbing journey through the relationships connecting civilization, progress, and the city.

” —Tim Marshall, author of The Future of Geography

“Age of the City is the book we need now. Ian Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin take aim at those who believe the age of our great cities is over. They marshal powerful and much needed evidence to show that cities are becoming even more important to our economy and society. Their book illuminates the ongoing ability of cities to preserve and thrive in the face of all manner of adversity, as platforms to harness and unleash the human creativity which stands as the engine of human progress. Their book is essential reading for political and business leaders and each and every one of us who cares about and wishes to help create a better collective future.” —Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class.

“A sweeping survey of the history and modern challenges facing cities that will persuade you that they are the key to a happier and more sustainable future together.” —Baroness Minouche Shafik, President and Vice-Chancellor, London School of Economics and Political Science

“Ian Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin have written a compelling volume explaining why cities will survive and thrive despite the twin threats of remote work and pandemic. This book vividly explains how cities are engines of cooperation, which fundamentally enable us to become more human. Using a compelling combination of history and data, the authors remind us that life is better lived in urban streets and cafes than in Zoom waiting rooms. This is an important read for anyone who cares about cities.” —Professor Edward Glaeser, Economics Department Chair, Harvard University

“A compelling, holistic and well-balanced narrative on the critical role of cities in an age of global warming – full of insights based on hard data. From cover to cover, a great read. Full of positive ideas for the future, and grounded in vital lessons from the past. The authors link together many disparate subjects into one integrated whole – bringing alive history, planning, infrastructure, pandemics, urbanism, deprivation, industrialisation, fertility, wars, governance and more – all in support of the city.

” —Lord Norman Foster, architect and designer

“Age of the City provides a startlingly fresh and compellingly readable account of the forces that have defined our past and will shape our future. An essential and enjoyable guide for all our lives.” —Professor Saskia Sassen, Columbia University and author of The Global City

“A sharp and lively urbanist manifesto…the chapters on pandemics and the rise of remote work sound a fresh and timely note.” —The Times Literary Supplement

“An insightful analysis.” —Irish Times

“This fascinating book explains the challenges [cities] pose and what needs to be done to make them work better for all their inhabitants.” —Financial Times

“Represent[s] useful approaches for understanding the urban space in which we live, work and play.” —financialtimes.com

From the Publisher

10/09/2023

Goldin (Rescue), an Oxford professor of globalization and development, and Economist correspondent Lee-Devlin extol in this poorly argued polemic the potential for urban development to solve many of society’s ills. Cities are “now home to over half the global population... something never before seen in human history,” the authors write, and they use this fact as a launchpad to argue that the urban development policies of today will seal the fate of future societies. They go on to outline how urban dynamism, which relies so much on the physical closeness of people, has suffered greatly due to the pandemic and the migration of daily activity into the digital realm, and thus cities must adapt or lose relevance. To address such challenges, Goldin and Lee-Devlin call for more investment in cities—better public transit and increased housing density, as well as more desirable accommodations for the “high-skill” employees of the tech industry. Unfortunately, their policy recommendations are often overly broad. For example, they call for “multiple layers of government... acting in concert with one another” and the “political courage... to find sensible solutions.” This rallying cry comes up short. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly